Of Coffees and Cookies
by applesandcherries
Summary: One chilly weekend in December, Kate Beckett starts owing up to her coffee debt – and gets more than she bargained for. Two-Shot. Rating for some innuendo - Castle style.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Of Coffees and Cookies

**Author:** applesandcherries | phoenix-cry

**Spoilers:** None, really. Just some allusions to some aired episodes of season four.

**Summary:** One chilly weekend in December, Kate Beckett starts owing up to her debt – and gets more than she bargained for.

**Disclaimer:** None of the characters are mine – I just share their love for coffee.

**A/N:** Thanks to shadedcolor for giving me a nudge when I whined over being stuck. I planned to post this ages ago – before Christmas, actually – but somehow never got around to it. I hope you will still enjoy this little story. Also, this has not been beta'd, so I apologize for any mistakes.

**Chapter 1**

Kate Beckett dodged another pedestrian on the crowded sidewalk, careful not to step into the slippery puddles the first snow of the season had left behind. She could see her breath in front of her face, escaping in white puffs into the chilly air and sighed in relief when she finally spotted her destination ahead of her. Hunching her shoulders against a sudden gust of wind, she buried the hand, which was not holding her precious cargo, deeper into the pocket of her coat, before finally ducking into the lobby of the apartment building. Trying to shake off the last traces of the cold still clinging to her thin frame, she made her way towards the elevators, nodding towards the doorman in greeting.

Summoning the elevator with a punch of the button, she was pleasantly surprised when the doors opened at once, permitting her entrance.

Stepping inside, she pressed the button to the correct floor and watched the doors slide back shut soundlessly. Wrapping her frozen hands around the thankfully still warm beverage cup in her hand, she nearly moaned in relief when the warmth started to seep through her skin. She watched the numbers on the display climb, and in no time, she stepped into the familiar corridor. Walking the short distance to the door, she knocked after a small moment of hesitation.

_Really, what was she doing here? Maybe he was busy. She should have called, and – _her doubts were interrupted when the red door swung open and the object of her thoughts stood in front of her, looking warm and comfortable, and yes, ruggedly handsome, in his deep blue sweatshirt and loose jeans.

"Kate!" he exclaimed, surprise written over his features for a second, before it was replaced by a look of pure joy. "Hi!" his eyes flitted downwards towards the object still clasped in her hands. "What's this?"

"This is number one."

An eyebrow rose in confusion. "Of what?"

"The hundred your partner owes you. You remember her, don't you? The girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders?" she explained, offering the coffee to him, with a small smile on her face.

His smile grew as he accepted her offering and took a sip. He hummed in pleasure as the warm liquid slid down his throat. "Is that cinnamon?"

She just smiled at him, teasingly. "I'm not telling. You'll just have to wait for number two."

"You're a tease, you know that?" he said and tugged on her arm. "What are you still standing out there for? Come on in."

Not really in the mood to leave the warmth of his loft in exchange for the freezing temperatures outside, she did not put up much of a fight.

Willingly handing him her coat, she took in her surroundings for the first time. Fairy lights were sparkling over the windows and around the door frame to his office, garlands had been put up throughout the room and various other Christmas decorations could be spotted. The second thing she noticed was the heavenly smell emanating from the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, she smiled as memories of Christmases spent with her mother, baking cookies and gingerbread, resurfaced.

Feeling his presence at her back, she wasn't surprised when his voice caressed her ear, as he explained "We're making cookies. Alexis found this recipe online she wanted to try. You're more than welcome to join us. I have the feeling there will be enough cookies at the end of the day to feed a small army."

Laughing softly, she turned and found herself staring into his blue eyes. Had they always been this mesmerizing? Probably. She had just been too stubborn to notice.

"I..." loosing her train of thought for a second, she hastened to come up with a reply that didn't consist of her stammering and blushing like an idiot. Covering with a cough, she started again "Only if Martha and Alexis are okay with it. I don't want to intrude on your family time."

He looked at her in disbelief. "Nonsense. They'll be thrilled. Especially mother. For some reason, she just won't stop talking about you after you so heroically saved our lives." His eyes twinkled at her as he smiled and she couldn't help smiling back.

"I still can't believe you've kept count, Castle," she teased.

"You will never let me live that down, will you?"

"Most certainly not, no."

"Darn."

She smirked at him over her shoulder as his hand on her lower back determinedly steered her towards the kitchen, not giving her a chance to reconsider. Martha and Alexis were both bent over what appeared to be bowl of cookie dough, a lively discussion going on about its consistency. Hearing footsteps, the diva inquired, "Richard, darling, who was-" spotting Kate standing beside her son, she exclaimed, "Kate! Oh, how wonderful to see you, dear! Come over here and give this old woman a hug!"

Laughing, Kate did as she was told and was engulfed in a tight hug. She could really get used to this, she thought, missing her own mom terribly in this moment. Giving Martha one last squeeze, she stepped back and heard Alexis pipe from behind her, "Hi, Detective Beckett."

Turning around, she gave the girl a smile. "Hi Alexis. I hear you've made quite the discovery in the world of baking?"

Giggling, the teen said, "Well, we'll see about that, once I can convince grams that the dough is perfect the way it is and does not need more sugar. Maybe you can help me with that?"

"I'll try, although I can't promise you anything."

Stepping into the fray, she could feel Rick's eyes burning into her back and knew without looking that he was smiling that warm smile of his, which he seemed to have reserved solely for his family. And her.

Two hours later, the kitchen was a mess of baking utensils, heaps of heavenly smelling cookies, and flour. The latter of which seemed to have migrated to the front of Richard Castle's sweatshirt and into his hair. Kate was not in the least bit shy to admit that that was mostly her doing.

She was also not shy to admit that the last two hours had been the most fun she'd had in a while.

Now, she sat at the kitchen counter, sipping her hot chocolate with mini marshmallows floating on top and watched as Castle unsuccessfully tried to swat the flour out of his hair.

He glared halfheartedly at her. "Really, Kate. The least you could do is offer to wash my hair for me."

Kate shrugged at him. "Maybe I will, if you're a really good boy."

His head whipped around so fast she was sure he ended up with whiplash. He stared at her, a mixture of surprise, glee and arousal evident in his eyes. "What do I have to do?" he asked eagerly. "I will cater to your every whim, if you want me too."

She laughed. "I might take that suggestion into consideration."

"Will you also wash my back?" he asked, waggling his brows suggestively.

Before she could answer, Alexis interrupted their banter. "Ew, dad. Could you finish that conversation while I'm not in the room, please? I might otherwise be in need of therapy, once you're done."

Chuckling, he looked over at his daughter, ignoring his mother who was smiling all too knowingly at him, "I'm sorry, pumpkin. From now on I will try to keep my suggestive remarks in check."

Kate snorted. "Yeah, right."

He glared at her again. "If you would just let me finish my sentence. I was trying to say, before you so rudely interrupted me, that I will make no more suggestive remarks as long as my daughter is within earshot."

She grinned at him. "You will not last an hour."

"Why, detective, so little faith in me. You wanna bet?"

"No, thank you. I am not so cruel and take money from you when I know you have no chance at winning. That would be too easy."

"You're just too chicken."

"If that let's you sleep better at night, you go ahead and keep telling yourself that."

"When I sleep, I most certainly do not dream of chickens, detective."

"Aaaand, there you go again." Alexis groaned. "Kate's right, it would have been too easy."

Castle pouted. "She keeps setting me up! That's not fair!"

"Whining will get you nowhere, Ricky." Kate countered.

"You two are adorable, do you know that?" This time, it was Martha who chimed in, causing Kate to blush slightly.

"Thank you, mother." Rick commented drily, but couldn't hide the small, satisfied grin from tugging at his lips.

Kate just kept silent and tried to hide the answering grin in her mug. Rick, still grinning, but now more like a kid in a candy store, moved stealthily towards the still-warm cookies and snagged one off the plate. Kate's eyes followed his movements as he seemed to get tunnel vision and, Kate thought, the only thing missing from this picture was a little spot of drool on his chin. Snorting at the thought, she once again masked her amusement in her mug, sipping slowly, her eyes never leaving her partner's form.

He was just biting into the cookie, munching happily when he caught her gaze. Being his usual nine-year-old self, he started talking at once, probably wanting to tease her about having been caught staring at him – which she hadn't been doing, of course, merely observing, thank you very much – when he was punished by his hastiness and started choking on the sweet goodness. Squeezing his eyes shut and starting to thump on his chest with his closed fist, he coughed like a maniac, trying to maneuver the piece of cookie out of his airway and into where it was supposed to go.

Rolling her eyes and calmly sliding off her stool, she shooed his mother and daughter, who had been swarming him the second he started coughing, out of the way and snaked her arms beneath his armpits and around his torso. He stopped his antics the moment he felt her touch him and froze, even forgetting to cough. She had a feeling he had stopped breathing, too. Concentrating on her task, she locked her hands together and contracted her arms, jerking him backwards and the wayward piece of cookie back out of his trachea. She let him cough the culprit the rest of the way out, before letting go and nonchalantly returning to her seat.

He was still thumping his chest with his closed fist and his eyes were suspiciously shiny, but never swaying from their resting place upon her gaze.

"That's...nine...for you...and...nine...for me. Seems like we're...even now." He managed between coughing fits.

One of her eyebrows delicately raised, she studied him. "Yes, Castle. I just saved your life from ending miserably at the hands of an innocent, small cookie."

Wiping a tear surreptitiously out of his left eye, he then proceeded to pout at her. "It was so not small!"

"It wasn't even the whole cookie, Castle! It was a _crumb._"

"Just because you so heroically saved my life doesn't give you the right to be so snippy, Missy."

Her eyebrow climbed even higher. "Did you just call me _Missy_?"

He swallowed hard. "Yes. Yes, I did." His fist came to rest on his chest, forgotten under the heat of her glare.

"Don't _ever_ call me Missy again. Or the next crumb to get stuck in your throat stays there. Got it?"

He nodded hastily. "Got it."

Satisfied that he got her point and wasn't going to start choking again, she dedicated her attention back to her cocoa, but still acutely aware of the smirk on Martha's face and the half amused grin on Alexis's.

Taking one more sip before braving the storm, she then fixed her eyes upon the two other women, ignoring Castle's still slightly frightened look for now. "So, what else do you usually do after a cookie baking session galore?"

"We usually just get comfortable on the couch, watch a movie or play a game and wait until the cookies are cool enough to eat." Alexis explained, throwing a meaningful glance her dad's way.

Kate smiled at her. "Sounds like fun. I guess I should leave you guys to it, then."

She got off her stool when she felt a small hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"You don't need to leave, detective! You could play a game with us, if you want? I mean, if you don't have other plans already?" The girl looked so hopeful that Kate just couldn't say no. Where had that come from? The last time they had spoken, Alexis had not been too happy with her, even though they had had managed to have a lovely family dinner together. Wait. Family dinner? She groaned inwardly. What the heck was going on with her? But she knew perfectly well what was going on. She was nearly ready to say bye bye to her wall and climb over it personally, so she could leave it as far behind in her past as humanly possible. She was ready to move on. Preferably into Castle arms. Mmmh, those arms, which were perfectly branded into her memory after just having felt them pressed against her own. He had to be lifting weights regularly. Those didn't appear just from typing at a laptop.

"Kate, darling?" Martha's voice pulled her from her musings. Musings, my ass. Let's call it by its name. Daydream. She was daydreaming. "You don't have to feel obligated to stay. We understand, if you don't want too."

"What? Oh, no, Martha! I'm sorry, I was just...lost in thought there for a moment. I would love to stay with you guys, thank you."

Castle seemed to have overcome his bout of awkwardness and beamed at her. Clapping his hands excitedly, he exclaimed, "Fantastic. What shall it be then? Monopoly? Scrabble? Wii?"

"Ooh, we haven't played the Wii in ages, dad!"

"You okay with that, Kate?"

"Sure. Sounds like fun."

"Awesome. Let's go then."

Shooing them into the living room, he set everything up, while the women chatted amicably between themselves.

Kate smiled. She was never so glad to owe anyone coffee as she was right now.

tbc

A/N: Chapter 2 will be up soon. Thanks for reading :)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

All three having exerted themselves during a few games – and Kate having kicked Castle's butt back to Wednesday in more than half of them, with Martha cheering her on, all the while ignoring the tingle of his eyes roaming her body (he was not as inconspicuous as he thought he was) – they now sat slouched into the comfy couch, enjoying the fruit of their labor. Castle ate his cookies notably more cautiously than before, which had Kate grinning in amusement. She could not remember ever having so much fun spending a lazy afternoon and not feeling the urge to do something productive.

Like work.

Letting her head fall back against the back of the couch, she closed her eyes in bliss, only to have them flutter back open when the felt the tickle of a gentle touch on her forehead. She watched as Castle's hand retreated back to his side, before meeting his eyes.

"You okay?" He asked, barely managing to mask the concern for her in his eyes. Her smile grew, because how could she not smile at this adorable man-child?

"Yeah. In fact, I've never been better. Thank you for having me over, Rick."

She could see the flicker of surprise in his eyes at her use of his first name, but then the surprise was pushed away to be replaced with pleasure.

"You're always welcome here, Kate. You know that."

Beckett just stared at him for a moment, letting the happy and warm feeling wash over her. "I know," she whispered back, trying hard not to get lost in his eyes. Again. She really had to stop doing that, if she didn't want to get caught.

He was staring right back, though, so it didn't really matter, did it?

They broke eye contact when they caught Martha and Alexis trying to sneak away, trying not to giggle at their lovestruck behavior.

"Hey, where are you guys off to?"

"Oh, you know, dad. Just trying not to keep you guys from anything...important."

Kate could feel her face heating up and struggled into a sitting position, bumping against Castle's shoulder in the process, who had not yet moved away from his cozy spot next to her. Or nearly over her.

"We...we weren't..." sighing in frustration at her inability to form a coherent sentence, Kate took a deep breath, inhaling his scent in the process. "You don't have to leave!"

"Nonsense, darling. You two looked cozy enough without our doing."

Martha's words just caused Kate's blush to deepen. What was going on? Kate didn't usually blush this easily. It was all Castle's fault. Castle and his blue eyes and muscular arms and fantastic smell.

Before any words of protest could form in her throat, the two redheads were already halfway up the stairs. Hiding her face in her hands in embarrassment, she groaned to herself. The quiet chuckle answering her was not what she was expecting. Letting her hands fall limply back into her lap, she dared to glance at him. "Really? You find this funny? Why aren't you in the least bit embarrassed that they might think...who knows what? Oh, wait, I forgot. You're a man-child." Her small rant was met by even more laughter from him and she had trouble suppressing the quirk of her lips at his merriment. In a desperate attempt stop herself from laughing along with him – because, really, did have to retain at least _some_ of her old style – she punched his upper arm, effectively stopping his laughter, which was replaced with a pout and a not-so-quiet _ow_.

"What was that for? It's not my fault you can't keep your eyes off of me!"

She snorted. "Yeah, right. I recall you staring pretty heavily at _me,_ writer-boy."

Rick just shrugged nonchalantly. "It's your own fault that you're so damn pretty."

Dumbfounded, she stared at him.

"See?" He exclaimed. "You're doing it again. You're staring!"

Her stare turned into a glower. "Really, Rick? What are you. Twelve?"

"Didn't we already establish that I'm a man-child, detective?"

Kate just sighed and slumped back against the couch cushions. "If you don't want me to leave you man-child alone to go stare into your vanity mirror, you better get me a drink, Castle."

His face broke out into an even bigger grin. "Be careful what you wish for, detective. I wouldn't want you to accuse me of taking advantage of you later on."

Quirking her eyebrow at his words, she leaned closer and watched with a twinge of victory as his breathing faltered slightly at her proximity. "Maybe I want you too," she breathed, her voice dropping an octave.

Castle swallowed heavily. "Uh, yeah. I'll...I'll better get you that drink then."

Her laughter followed him into the kitchen as he literally bolted from the couch.

Beckett 1, Castle 0.

Oh, sweet, sweet victory, she thought.

They had continually gravitated closer to each other, and now, three drinks later, Castle's arm had sneaked its way around her waist and her head had found a very comfortable place against his chest.

Kate was too drowsy to mind. At all. It was really nice, actually.

"This is nice." His voice murmured into her hair and she smiled slightly at being able to feel his words rumble through his chest. She tried to ignore how it was slightly creepy that he always seemed to be able to read her mind. "Why have we never done this before?"

"Hmm." She mumbled, snuggling closer into his warmth. "Dunno," too tired to come up with a real reply, her mind pleasantly buzzed.

"Damn, this is some good stuff you have there," she murmured, absently patting his stomach.

"Huh?"

She giggled when she realized how he must have taken her words. "The whiskey, Castle. I'm talkin' about the whiskey."

He chuckled again. "'Course you are."

"Although, this is pretty good, too."

This time, she made sure he got her real meaning, slowly transforming her pat into a gentle caress. His stomach muscles twitched under her fingers, and she found herself strangely fascinated by it. Repeating her hand's movement, she jumped slightly, when his larger hand suddenly grasped hers.

"Kate." His voice was husky, a mixture of whiskey and something more primal. Something in her stomach coiled in response and she had to fight the urge to gasp for air. Instead she concentrated on the feeling of his thumb drawing random patterns against the skin of her wrist. Okay, that wasn't really helping. At all.

Summoning the energy to lift her head off his chest, she found herself staring into dark blue eyes, which seemed to nearly swallow her whole.

"Hmm?" Was all she managed in return, the question implied in her tone.

"Never thought I'd say this, but really should stop touching me."

A smirk sneaked onto her lips. "You're one to talk."

"Huh?"

In answer, she pointedly looked at his fingers around her wrist.

"Oh. Yeah." His body seemed to take a minute to catch up with his brain, and he made to drop her hand. The smirk on her face turned into a soft smile – and did he imagine it, or was that shyness he saw in her eyes? - before she moved to the edge of the cough, hoisting herself up onto slightly unsteady legs.

"You're leaving?" He asked, and she tried hard to ignore how desolate he sounded.

"Yeah, it's time. I've been hogging your couch and your kitchen long enough for one day."

"There's still the office, guestroom and bathroom left for you to hog, if you feel like it. The master bedroom as well, of course. I don't want it to feel left out."

"That's too kind of you, Castle. I'm sure your bedroom will appreciate the sentiment."

She could literally see the train of thought going through his head in that moment – which he was trying hard not to let spill over his lips. _I'm sure it would appreciate you even more. _

"Well, I should leave anyways. I'll hog the rest of your home another time, Castle."

"Pity. Have you ever tried the steam function in the shower? Heavenly, let me tell you."

Kate bit her lip in an effort not to smile at his obvious attempt to charm her into taking the shower _with him_. "I'll leave that to your fantasies for tonight. Can't make your entertainment too easy for you."

He glared at her. "Again, not as much fun when I have your permission. Because this? Is just evil, detective."

She laughed and glided passed him, patting his arm as she went. "You love it, just admit it."

He grumbled at her back as he followed her to the door, snagging her coat off the couch, where she had discarded it hours before. Helping her into the coat, as had become a new ritual for them, he let his hands linger on her shoulders for a moment, finally parting from her with a squeeze.

When she turned around to face him, another one of those tight-lipped smiles he loved so much could be found on her mouth. "Thanks for today, Rick. It was fun."

"You're welcome, Kate. I had fun, too. So did mother and Alexis."

She saw him hesitate for a moment, before he leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek.

Heat burned through her, and she wondered again, how such a simple act could make her feel so much. She really had to get her act together, if she wanted more where that came from.

Soon, she promised herself.

And as she stepped out into the hallway, leaving the warmth of his loft in her back, but taking some precious memories with her, she knew that she was almost ready.

_~fin_

**A/N: I was swamped with favorite story/story alerts, with an amount of which I did not expect in the least! You guys rock! Thank you so much for reading and enjoying the story and a special thanks to those of you who dropped me a line. :) It's all very much appreciated! Take care guys, and hopefully I'll see you around!_  
><em>**


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